Krakow is the old capital of Poland, a country that has seen highs and lows and has been abused throughout much of history. At one time the largest country in Europe, they weren’t even a country for a while before WWI. Krakow is very walkable and we stayed right off the old town square. Food is delicious and the beer is good too (Czech beer is still cheaper and better).
Krakow’s Old Town Square is the largest square in Europe. This tower is the what remains of the old town hall and behind that is the Cloth Hall, which served as a trading hall in the past as Krakow sat on an important trade route, today it is filled with stalls selling souvenirs. We took a walking tour around the old city and our guide explained to us that the city was named after King Krak who famously defeated a dragon, and hence Krakow means the City of Krak.
Krakow is surrounded by medieval city walls and an old moat was filled in to create a park around the city. It is flanked at the southern end of the city with Wawel Castle, that sits on a hill overlooking the Vistula River. The first picture is a open space within the castle, with Wawel Cathedral to the right. The second is a spectacular square within the main portion of the castle.
We did a walking tour of the Jewish quarter that included this memorial built in the old square of the Jewish Ghetto. We visited many sites that included many sites in Schindler's list and the site of the Schindler Factory. We learned about the horrible conditions that Jews lived in during WWII and even leading up to it. Polish Jews were subject to some of the worst conditions during the Nazi reign and helping a Jew in Poland was punishable by death. There were over 70,000 Jews in Krakow prior to WWII, today there are only a few hundred.
We took a day trip to visit Auschwitz. It was eerie to be in a death camp where over 1.3 million people were murdered. The museum is in the actual buildings of the camp and they paint the gruesome picture of happened there. Birkenau, the second of three camps that make up Auschwitz, is unbelievable in size and it took us 15-20 minutes to walk across it.
We visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine, that has been in operation since the 1300’s. We toured about 2.5 km and saw about 1% of the total mine. There are massive tunnels that connect chamber after chamber within the mine, many which are filled with statues made of salt. There is a restaurant and even conference center in the mine, all at 3oo feet below ground. The picture above is the Chapel of the Blessed Kinga, where 20,000 tons of salt was removed. There are intricate carvings, including the Last Supper, and everything you see is salt, including the chandeliers.
You guys need to check out Zakopane, which is a small Polish alpine town about two hours south of Krakow, it's got some amazing hikes and it's beautiful in the summertime.
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